Garage door and operating mechanism therefor



5 March` 22, 1927.

C. G. JOHNSON GARAGE DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed Dec. 8, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet l nunrll n l l C. G. JOHNSON GARAGE DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR watch 22,

Filed D'ec. 8, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 51H01 nel-,0

March 22, 1927.

. c. G. vJol-uvson:

GARAGE DOOR AND OPERATING MEGHANISM THEREFOR Filed Dec. e, 1923 5 sheets-sheet Patented Mar. 22, 1927.' i

^ f UNITED STATES CLARENCE G. JOHNSON, F DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

GARAGE DOOR AND OPERATING MECHANISM THEREFOR.

' Application led Peceniber 8, 1923.' Serial No. 679,345.

In the pending application .filed Aug: 1, 1921, Ser. No. 488,773 and another applicaltion filed Oct. 16, 1922, Ser. No. 594,725 there are disclosed garage or overhead doors of' the sectional, slatted or fiexible type adapted ltio be shifted to an overhead horizontal posi tion in a garage above an automobile or other l vehicle placed therein; the second applica tion contains certain improvements in connection with the construction disclsed in the first application, and this' application is directed to further improvements, particulai-ly in the door operating mechanism.'

011e of the objects of' this invention is to furnish a door frame', 'amb or' door rails with guides or housings or a counterblilance used in connection with' a Slat-ted or flexible door adapted to completely close the door frame and be shiftablefroin such closed position to an overhead horizontal'open position. A guide or housing is placed at each side of the doorway within a garage anda' counterbalance is placed in each guide or housing so that said counterbalaice cannot become accidentally displaced and will be more or less protected from the elements. Another object iof my invention is to utilize counter balanceliousings as guides for the various slats or sections of -a door shiftable relative to a doorway and rails adjacent said doorway, said rails affording a support for the door when in an open horizontal position continguous to the roof of a garage.

The above and other objects are attained by the constructions to be hereinafter de scribed and then claimed, and reference will now be had to the drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a,vertical sectional View of a portion of the garage showing the door thereof in a closed position;

Fig. 2 isa similar view showing the door in an overhead horizontal open position;

Fig. 3`is a perspective view of a portion of the doen-railv and counterbalance housing;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a portion ofthe housing for the counterbalance;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal View of the garage taken on theline V-V of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken' on the line VL-VI of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the garage illustrating a modification of niy invention;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the line IX-IX of Fig. 7, and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line Xe-X of Fig. 7

Reference will first bc had to Figs. 1 to inclusive showing one forni of my invention and in theseV vie-ws t-hc referencenumeral 1 which the garage is supported and includes, among other things, a front wall 2, joists or rafters 3, and a roof 4.I The front wall 2 is provided with a wide doorway or door frame 5 so that an automobile or other vehicle can easily enter the garage.

Mounted in the floor 1 at the inner side edges of the doorway 5 are tubular slotted housings orA guides 6 which may have the lower eiidsthereof extend some distance below the floor 1, while the upper ends of said housings are held by straps or brackets 7 carried by the front wall 2; In addition to the straps or brackets 7 there may be a -plura.lity 'of slotted' brackets '8 provided with rail supporting arms 9 for angle rails 10 disposed parallel -to the slotted hous. ings- 6. The angle rails 10 extend from the floor r1 upwardly in proximity to the upper ends of the housings 6 and rearwardly .from `the front wall- 2 to provide overhead horizontal rails 11. .These horizontal rails are ina plane above the plane of the doorway lintel and said rails are supported by hangers l2 from the joists 3. u

The door vforthe garage is composed of a plurality of slats or panels 18 hingedly connectedtogethei', as at 14, with the hinges at the' inner side of the door so that the panels of the door ma 1 be swung inwardly or rearwardly during its movement from a vertical closedposition, as shown in Fig. 1, to a horizontal open position as' shown in Fig. 2. The upper end edges of the door panels 13 are provided with `angle brackets 15 supporting flanged rollers 16 and links 17 provided with rollers 18. The rollers 16 and 18 engage opposite sides of the flanges 19 of the rails 10 and 11, thus connecting the` door panels to the rails so that'the door may be bodily shifted on 'said rails without any' toni edge supported by counterbalancing devices in the tubular housings 6. The connterbalancing devices are in the forin of 'denotes a floor, ground or foundation oii -iie coiled springs 2Q supporting guide blocks 2l into which extend pins 22, 'carried by brackets 23 attached to the lowerend edges of the lowermost panel 13. of the door, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The pins 22 extend through the longitudinal -slots 24 of the housings 6, and the expansive force of the springs within said housings is adapted to facilitate manual elevation of the entire door. lVhen the door is closed as shown in Fig. 1 the springs 20 are under their greatestcoinpression and the weight ot the door is suflieient to hold the springs so conipressed. As the door is raised the springs gradually expand and as the uppermost panels travel on to the rails ll and thus reduce the weight of the door 'the work to he performed by the springs is somewhat rel duced, andirrespective ol any positionwt the door it is nicely counterhalanc'edand"in thls connection dltfers from counterbalancingv devices composed of weights. lVith the springs within the.V tubular housing 6 there may be easily and quickly installed .at the sides of a garage doorway, and it' the joists or rafters 3 do not forln part of the bunding, such supporting members can be easily and quickly installed.

Locks, handles, andvotlxer accessries xnay forln part of the door sothat the same may be conveniently manipulated, particularly.

from an open overhead position to' a closed vertical position.

Reference will'now be had. to Figs. 7, 8 and 9, showing' an installation which includes slotted wall or ceiling brackets 25 for tubular slotted housings :26 having overhead horizontal ends 2. Door panels 28 are provided with brackets 29 havingv pins 3U. extending through'the slots of `the .housings 26 and provided with Arollers 31 to engage the inner walls of the4 housings, Vso that the housings may guide the door panels when being shifted. In the lower ends of the housings 26 are springs 32 engaging blocks or abutlnents 33 supported from the pins 30 ot' the lowermost-brackets 29, and all of this construction obviates the necessityV of using angle rails as tracks for the door.

lVhle in the drawings there are illustrated' the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood .that the structural elements are Vsusceptible tol such I nodir tcation and changes as .fall within the scope ot' the .appended claims.

What I claim is l. In a garage having a doorway, a slatted shiltable door for the doorway, tubular slotted housings, means carried by the slatted door engaging said housingsand adapted to guide said door when shifted, and an,

expansible and retractible spring in each housing counterbalancing said door in all ofv its. positions.

2i In a garage having a doorway, a slatted vertically shiftable door for the doorway, tubular slotted housings, at the sides of said doorway extending above and below the garage doorway; abutments in said. 'housings connected to one of the slats of said door, and an expansible and .retractible spring in each housing eonnterbalanclng' said doo;` and between said abutments and l.the lower ends of said housings.

3. In a garage having a. doorway, a slatv ted shiftable door. for said doorway, lionsings at the sides of said door and extending away from' the dOorway, means fmovable in said housings adapted to guidev saidl door when shifted, and expansible and retractible springs .in saidfhousings"cooperating withl the tlstmentioned means in* eunterbalane ing thedoor in 'all of its positions,

In testimony whereof I alx my signature..

CLARENCE er, JoHgNsoN. 

